The Valentine's Card
by Usearki
Summary: Kaiba overhears Jonouchi talking to Yugi about how he feels about him so Kaiba leaves a valentine's card in Jou's locker with a note inviting him out to dinner. What will happen when Jou doesn't show? A fairly light story for Valentine's day.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

"Ah, Yug', it's such a shame that he hates me." Jou's voice came from outside the toilet cubicle where Kaiba was currently residing. To be honest he'd finished in there, but as he'd heard Jonouchi and Yugi come in to the bathroom he'd decided to stay put and eavesdrop in case he heard anything that may be of interest to him. He was certainly curious over who the Mutt was talking about.

"What do you mean, Jonouchi?" the diminutive duelist was heard to reply. Kaiba held his breath as he waited for the that information to be uttered.

"You know how I feel about him," Jou sounded sad and the thought that Jou had unrequited feelings for someone - especially a male someone - did not sit well with Kaiba. "If he would only give me a chance," Jou continued, "if he hadn't made it clear that I'm not fit to breathe the same air that he does, I know that we could be really good together."

"He might think that you were only using him for his money," Yugi suggested, "after all, it's not really any secret that you don't have all that much..."

"You know that doesn't mean much to me Yug'," Jou said, the sincerity in his voice obvious, "what you haven't had you don't miss and stuff like that, but I guess you are right that he might think that way," He sighed, "but I'd like to think he'd know me better than that."

"Are you ever going to try doing anything about it?" Yugi wanted to know.

"Nope," Jou replied. "You know that I can't just come out and tell him. I'm not even completely sure that he likes guys and he'd only laugh in my face anyway. I am going to send him a valentine's card, but I know I won't be able to bring myself to sign it." Jou shrugged, "It will probably end up in the bin with all the others that he gets, but other than that I don't think there's anything I can do that won't end up with him killing me."

"I'm sorry Jou," Yugi said, obviously trying to comfort his friend.

"Nah, it's OK Yug'," Jou said with what was obviously false cheer. "I'll just have to wait until I can get over it," he sighed again, "although that could take a while."

"Well, for what it's worth, I agree with you," Yugi said as they moved to leave the bathroom, "You and Kaiba would be good together. Maybe he'll come around one day."

Inside the stall, Kaiba gave a start at the mention of his name. He had already been mentally reeling at the revelation that the Mutt was attracted to another male and had been beginning to suspect that Jonouchi might have been talking about himself, but to hear Yugi actually confirm it within his hearing? Well, that was something he truly had not been expecting.

Jou gave a final sigh, "Nah, never gonna happen..." The door closed behind them and Kaiba was once again alone in the bathroom. He exited the stall, a contemplative look on his face. It would seem that he had sorely misjudged Jonouchi, having been utterly convinced up until this moment that the blond hated him. Of course, thinking back after these new revelations he could see that the signs were all there but he'd completely missed them, having been so sure that Jonouchi wanted nothing to do with him. The only thing left to decide now was what he should do about it.

He left the bathroom with new determination. He had a lot to planning to do.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

As school let out the next Monday afternoon, Katsuya Jonouchi wasted no time in heading to his locker, relieved that school was finally out. The fact that it was Valentine's day and he hadn't received a card had not diminished his spirits too much, even though he had been disappointed that Kaiba hadn't even looked at the card that he had taken such care over. He was thankful that the CEO had only thrown it away with the rest of the cards he'd received and not singled it out for ridicule, which was something he tended to do with the more outlandish ones. Jonouchi thought that if he _had_ signed it then he wouldn't have been surprised if Kaiba had burned it in front of the class. But then maybe he was wrong about that. He'd noticed that Kaiba had been pretty much ignoring him for the last few days, apart from a few odd looks. That was quite out of the ordinary and Jou really wasn't sure what to make of it.

He opened his locker, intent on getting sorted out as quickly as possible, only to stop short at the sight of a plain white envelope sat neatly on top of his haphazardly piled books. He was carefully looking over the envelope to see if there were any identifying marks, when he almost jumped out of his skin.

"Hey Jou, what do you have there?" Yugi asked innocently.

"Dammit Yug', don't do that!" Jou said after he realised that it was only his friend.

"Sorry Jou," Yugi said apologetically. "But what _is_ it that you have there?"

"Its just an envelope," Jou said with a little trepidation, "but I have no idea what's in it yet."

"Are you going to open it then?" Yugi asked brightly. "It might be a Valentine's card!"

"I guess I should," Jou said with a touch of trepidation as he finally unsealed the envelope. He couldn't help but blush a little as he pulled out an elegant looking valentine's card, but as he opened it and read the message inside, his face went slack and he almost went into shock.

"Jou?" Yugi was a little worried by his friend's reaction. "What is it Jonouchi?"

Wordlessly, Jou handed the card and envelope over to Yugi, who wasted no time in reading it.

_'Jonouchi,_

_I had no idea that you felt that way about me._

_I would like to take you out tonight. Come to the KC Ritz at 6pm. Don't worry about dressing up too much. If you show the head waiter the enclosed pass card, you won't have any trouble._

_Hope to see you there._

_S.K._

_P.S. Happy Valentine's day._

Yugi reached into the envelope and pulled out a deep blue pass card with gold lettering that essentially gave Jou permission to access anywhere to do with Kaiba Corporation without question.

The sight of the card with it's shiny lettering brought Jonouchi out of his daze. "Shit Yug'," he was starting to panic now, "how did he find out?"

Yugi thought for a moment. "He must have overheard us talking in the bathroom last week," he finally concluded. "We haven't talked about it at any other time recently. He must have been in one of the cubicles already when we went in. I'm sorry Jou, I should have checked that we were alone."

Jou shook his head. "It's not your fault, I should have checked too, but... what am I gonna do?" he asked with a note of panic in his voice.

"Well, you are going to go, right?" Yugi asked.

"I don't know..." Jou's face showed his indecision. "If he overheard us then he might just be doing this to humiliate me."

"I don't think he'd go to all this trouble just for that," Yugi observed, waving the special card as evidence. "If all he wanted to do was humiliate you then he could do that much more easily in school and the effects would be much longer lasting."

"I guess you are right about that," Jou said. "but..."

"Jou," Yugi put his hand on his best friend's arm in a calming gesture, "you should go. Everyone knows how much you've been pining after him."

"I have NOT been pining," Jou protested.

"Whatever," Yugi brushed that off, "You really should go. You'll always wonder about it if you don't."

Jou sighed. "This is just all so..."

"Unexpected?"

"Yeah, and then some," Jou said with a small smile.

"So, you _are_ going to go, right?" Yugi repeated, a little more forcefully this time.

"I... yeah I guess I will," Jou looked up at the ceiling in embarrassment. "If I don't go then, you're right, I'll always wonder, but," he looked at Yugi with entreaty, "I have no idea what to wear."

"The letter did say not to dress up too much," Yugi pointed out.

"Yeah, but I can't just turn up in a tatty t-shirt and jeans," Jou shook his head, "No, I have to make at least _some_ effort, even though I'll never looks as good as he does."

"I'll help you," Yugi offered. "And I'm sure that everyone else will too. Between us I'm sure that we can come up with something."

"Thanks Yug'," Jou said, grabbing his friend up into a hug, "you are a real pal."

"Too right," The diminutive teen said with a smile as he extricated himself from Jou's grip. "Now come on, we've got to let the others know about this. We have a lot to do." With that, he took Jonouchi by the arm and dragged him from the school.

Once he was sure that they had gone, Seto Kaiba stepped out from behind the lockers where Jou and Yugi had been talking. So, his puppy was going to attend after all. He hadn't been sure that Jonouchi would accept his invitation, and in truth he owed Yugi a debt of gratitude for convincing the blond to meet with him.

He walked to the entrance to watch the pair leave, then once they were out of sight he called his limousine. He had some work to get out of the way before he was to meet Jonouchi and the sooner he got it out of the way, the better.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Later that evening found Jonouchi standing outside the Kaiba Corp. Ritz and gathering his courage to go inside. His friends had helped him by dressing him in a pair of smart black trousers and a white shirt that they had found in the back of his wardrobe. They had headed to Ryou's to grab a jacket that matched fairly well, then they had returned to the Kame Game Shop so that Jou could get ready. Honda had been giving Jou weird looks ever since he'd first heard about Kaiba's invitation, but every time Jou had tried to ask him about it he'd walked away. In the end Jou had shrugged and given up, deciding to concentrate on getting ready to meet Kaiba instead, concentrating his efforts on trying to dissuade Otogi from putting eyeliner on him.

Despite offers to the contrary, Jou had absolutely insisted on walking to the Ritz on his own. He'd been trying not to get his hopes up too much and he didn't want an audience in the event that things went sour. Fortunately Yugi had understood and, along with Ryou, had stopped the others from following him despite his wishes.

He stood outside the restaurant for a couple of minutes, apprehensive about going in but still almost thrumming with anticipation. He took a few deep breaths in order to gather his courage, then he stepped into the lobby. That was where everything started to go wrong.

"Can I do something for you?" the snooty voice of the head waiter gave away exactly what he thought of Jonouchi.

"Ah, I'm Jonouchi, I'm meeting someone here," Jou said as he reached into his pocket.

"Really?" The head waiter said as he looked down his nose at the blond. "I'm afraid that you must be mistaken. We don't serve clientèle of... your nature."

Jou was getting a little miffed at the treatment he was receiving. It were as though he'd turned up wearing rags or something and he was sure that he didn't look all that that bad, especially not with both Anzu and Otogi having fussed over him. What he wasn't to know was that the man had recognised him from his past as having been part of a gang.

"Look, I have this card. I was promised that..." Jou was cut off as the head waiter snatched the card out of his hand and looked at it in disbelief.

"How did you get this?" the man practically shrieked. "Who did you steal it from you little ruffian!"

"Hey, I didn't steal nothin'!" Jou exclaimed. "I was given that card by Kaiba himself!"

"Ridiculous!" the man snorted as he beckoned to someone behind Jonouchi. "There is no way that Mr. Kaiba would associate with the likes of you," he sneered, then looked up at the security guard that loomed behind Jonouchi, dwarfing the blond duelist. "Kaji, take this... trash... out please."

"Sir," the burly man grunted as he grabbed Jonouchi's arm. "Come on now."

"But I ain't lyin'" Jou protested. "Kaiba'll vouch for me."

"More'n my job's worth," Kaji replied. "I just do as I'm told." He dragged Jou to the door and unceremoniously pushed him out. "I'm sorry kid, but stay out and there won't be any more trouble."

Jou, who was not expecting to be physically thrown out, stumbled badly, twisting his ankle and landing unceremoniously in a heap on the floor. After a moment he slowly got to his feet, warily watching the security man who was standing impassively in the doorway. "Alright, I get it now," he said bitterly. "Should have known that the asshole wasn't being genuine anyway," he muttered as he limped away, heart breaking with every painful step.

Kaji watched until he was sure that Jou was actually leaving before he went back inside. He felt for the kid, he really did, but orders were orders and Takeo would have his job in a heartbeat if he were to go against him. He just hoped that in the event that the kid had been telling the truth, that Kaiba would be half as understanding.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Seto Kaiba sat at his table impatiently, wondering what had happened to Jonouchi. He knew for certain that he'd got the invitation and that Yugi had persuaded him to attend despite his reservations, so where in hell had he got to?

He thought back to the conversation he'd overheard between Jou and Yugi the previous week. He'd always thought that the blond had hated him and to find out that the opposite was true had shocked him to the core.

Once he'd accepted that Jou really did like him, he'd made reservations for them at the KC Ritz because he knew that the place was very discreet and they served the most amazing food, something that Jou was sure to appreciate. The fact that the restaurant was owned by Kaiba Corporation couldn't hurt either, especially with it being such a traditionally busy night.

He came out of his reverie with a sigh and looked at his watch. It was 6.20pm and there was still no sign of his blond haired puppy. Was he ever going to show? He knew that Jonouchi wasn't the most punctual person in the world, but surely he would have made an effort for something as important as this?

After a couple more minutes, Seto decided that enough was enough; he still had his pride after all. He stood, sweeping out of the dining room and into the lobby.

"Mr. Kaiba, sir," The head waiter approached Seto, wringing his hands. "Is there something not to your satisfaction tonight?"

"Everything is fine," Seto said shortly, "It would appear that the person I was meeting has had a change of plans, that is all."

"Of course Mr. Kaiba, sir. Have a good evening," The obsequious little man bowed as Kaiba made his exit.

Seto quickly got into his limo and instructed the driver to take him to Kaiba Corporation. After raising the privacy screens, he let his head drop into his hands and allowed himself a few moments of grief over what might have been. Stupid mutt.

After that Seto began to compose himself; it wouldn't do to arrive at Kaiba Corp showing weakness after all. As he raised his head and looked out of the window, he was surprised to see Jonouchi limping along with his head bowed. At the sight of the blond he felt a flare of anger and he quickly reached for the intercom. "Isono, stop the car," he commanded.

"Yes sir," the man said as he complied. Seto wasted no time in getting out of the car and heading towards the Mutt, determined to get to the bottom of why he'd dared to stand him up.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

**A/N** - This is the first chapter of my Valentine's story. I had actually intended to get it out for Valentine's day last year, but due to several reasons (like rewriting it from scratch) I failed terribly, so I decided to finish it in the meantime and save it for this year. There will be two more chapters and the story will be complete on Valentine's day.

And yes, the final chapter WILL be posted here. This story won't end up like 'No Vacation' because I made sure to edit the smut out of the final chapter before I even thought about posting this here. Of course, the alternate version will be available through a link in my profile when the time comes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

Also, thanks to everyone that reviewed, alerted and favourited. You seriously made my day. ^_^

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Jou grumbled to himself as he limped slowly down the road, his mind a whirl of pain and emotion. What would normally have been a ten minute walk had so far taken him almost twice as long and he was still a fair way from Yugi's, which in a way was fine as he needed the time to get his emotions under control and to think about what he would tell his friends.

He sighed as he thought back to what Yugi had told him; that Kaiba wouldn't go so far out of his way just to humiliate him. Well, on current evidence, it would seem that Yugi was wrong, but in the event that he was mistaken and the restaurant staff had acted on their own, Kaiba would think that he'd stood him up anyway. He knew that the tall CEO wouldn't want to know if he tried to explain himself, so he was well and truly stuffed. What a wonderful Valentine's day this had been, he thought bitterly.

He was absently wondering if things would get worse between them now, or whether Kaiba would just ignore him altogether when he painfully stumbled. Groaning slightly as he regained his balance, he looked up to find a sleek dark limousine slowly passing by. Knowing who was likely to be inside, Jou put his head down again, determined to ignore it. He gritted his teeth as he limped onwards, faster, towards the Kame Game Shop which, to his relief, was now in sight. However, he ended up swearing under his breath as the limo stopped just in front of him and Kaiba got out, making a bee line for him with a stern expression on his face.

"Jonouchi, why didn't you show up?" Seto demanded angrily as he reached for the blond, only to deepen his scowl when Jonouchi flinched away from him. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Don't pretend like you don't know," Jonouchi spat as he raised pain filled eyes to Kaiba's. He hadn't intended to go off at Kaiba, but the pain he was in, both emotional and physical, combined with his insecurities had him lashing out. "So am I not humiliated enough for you yet?" He glared at Kaiba, only to see a blank look in return. "Whatever, I'm outta here," he said as he made to go past Kaiba and continue on to Yugi's, only to come to a sudden halt as Seto grabbed his arm.

"Not so fast, Mutt" he snarled. "Before you go any further I want that card back."

"I don't have it," Jou shot back.

"What, did you lose it already?" Seto spat, heart aching at Jou's carelessness over that show of trust. Maybe he had been a little ahead of himself by giving Jonouchi such a thing, but he'd reasoned that he could always blacklist the card in the event that things did not go as planned.

"Yeah, right," Jou growled in return as he wrenched his arm out of Kaiba's grasp. "Why don't you go ask your Head Waiter about it?"

"And what does _he_ have to do with anything?" Seto demanded. He was beginning to get a suspicion over what may have happened, but he needed confirmation before he could act.

"You mean you really don't know?" Jou asked as he subsided slightly, hope warring with suspicion.

"Would I be asking you if I did?" Seto said with irritation, albeit a touch more gently than before.

Jou sighed. "I guess not," he said. "Well, your Head Waiter decided that I'd stolen the card, took it off me and had me thrown out." He looked warily at Kaiba to gauge his reaction.

Seto was stunned that his staff would dare to go against him like that, but he'd always had a bit of a weird feeling about that particular Head Waiter. Shaking off that train of thought for the moment, he looked around and realised that they were beginning to attract an audience. "Jonouchi, get in the limo." he said.

"Why should I?" Jou said belligerently, not quite ready to trust Kaiba yet.

"Puppy, please get in the limo," Seto said, "I promise that I didn't have anything to do with this." He did his best to let his sincerity show without seeming to beg. No matter the circumstances, Seto Kaiba did not beg, but as Jou made no move to comply he felt that he had to speak again. "Look around," he said, indicating the people watching with a sweep of his arm. "There are plenty of witnesses to see you get into the car if you are worried that something will happen to you."

Jou took note of the people watching them, gave Kaiba a measuring glance, nodded then began to limp towards the car, giving a start as Kaiba appeared at his shoulder to help him. Once inside, he sat gratefully on the comfortable seats, giving an appreciative groan at finally being able to get off his injured ankle.

Seto quickly got in after him and closed the door, concealing them from the prying eyes out on the street. He pressed the intercom. "Take us back to the Ritz please, Isono."

"Yes sir," the answer came as the car moved away.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Meanwhile, Yugi and the others had decided to watch a movie together as they waited to see how Jou's date turned out. Well, apart from Otogi who had breezed out after Jou had left, saying that he had a date of his own. Knowing the Dice Master it was probably just with some shallow fangirl that had fallen for his good looks and charm rather than anything serious.

As the remaining teens were making popcorn and setting up the DVD that they intended to watch, Ryou happened to look out of the window. He watched Jou and Kaiba having their little altercation with wide eyes, only coming back to himself as the limo began to pull away.

"Hey Yugi," Ryou called the attention of the other boy, "I just saw Jou and Kaiba having an argument out on the street."

"What!" Honda exclaimed as he was listening in. He dashed to the window, "Where?"

"Jou got in the limo with Kaiba and it drove off," Ryou said, pointing out where the limo was just going out of sight.

"Are you sure it was them?" Yugi asked reasonably.

"Oh yes," Ryou confirmed. "Jou was wearing what we dressed him in earlier and who could mistake Kaiba in that trench coat of his," he shook his head in mild amusement. "It was most definitely them."

"So why would they be out there now? It's only just half past six..." Anzu pointed out.

"I don't know," Ryou said thoughtfully, "But Jou seemed to be limping slightly."

"Fuck, I knew it was a bad idea to let him go to meet that asshole," Honda spat. "I don't care how much Jou likes him, if that bastard has done anything to him..."

"We don't know anything for sure yet, Honda," Yugi pointed out, "and I'm sure that Jou wouldn't go with Kaiba if he'd done anything to him."

"He could have forced him," Honda was not ready to let it go just yet.

"It didn't look as though he was forced," Ryou said, "and you know better than any of us that Jou won't be forced into _anything_ without fighting back. No, if anything Kaiba looked to be helping him rather than forcing him."

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see," Anzu said. "We all know that Jou can look after himself and I'm sure that there is a reasonable explanation."

"Fine," Honda subsided reluctantly, "But if that bastard has done anything to Jou..." he let the sentence hang in the air threateningly.

"We wouldn't expect anything less, Honda," Yugi said, "but I'm sure that everything is OK."

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Jou gave a start as he heard their destination. "Hey what gives? Why are we going back there?"

"First of all, I'm going to deal with that Head Waiter, then we are going to have dinner as was planned in the first place," Seto gave Jou an odd look, "That is, if you still want to..." Jou's stomach gave a growl and Seto smiled. "I guess your stomach still wants to anyway."

Jou's breath was taken away as he saw the genuine smile on Seto's lips. He looked handsome normally, but with a smile like that he looked absolutely gorgeous. "So... you really didn't set this up?" he asked with more than a little insecurity evident in his voice.

Seto was about to snap back, but realised that Jou needed to hear this specifically, much like he'd needed to hear what the Head Waiter had done to Jou earlier. "No, I didn't," he confirmed. "I've heard a few complaints about that particular Head Waiter from some of my clients, but I never thought that he would dare to go this far." Seto scowled, "He's overstepped the mark spectacularly this time and will need to be dismissed." Jou simply nodded, not wanting to tell Seto how he should run his own company. Besides, the guy totally deserved it.

A moment later the car pulled to a stop and, without waiting for Isono to do his job, Seto got out of the car and swept into the lobby of the Ritz, leaving Jou to follow on behind.

"Mr. Kaiba, sir," the Head Waiter said with some surprise, "Back so soon?"

"Yes, I have some... unfinished business," Kaiba said with the hint of a sneer.

Just then Jou entered the lobby. "Hold up Kaiba," he said as he limped towards the CEO, "I can't move so fast right now."

Seto was about to turn around to offer Jou an apology as he hadn't thought to ask how Jou had hurt his ankle in the first place and hadn't realised that Jou was not right behind him, but he was disturbed as the Head Waiter gasped.

"Oh, I'm sorry sir," the man said with horror in his voice. "Just let me call Kaji to get rid of this," he sneered, "trash." He clapped his hands and Kaji moved towards a horrified Jou, only to stop suddenly as Seto spoke up.

"Hold it!" the CEO commanded forcefully. "What on earth do you think you are doing?" he demanded, outraged at Jou's treatment.

"I'm just having this undesirable removed from the establishment, sir," the Head Waiter said.

"Before you do that," Seto said, "I believe that you have one of my cards."

"Why, yes sir, it's right here," He reached under the podium and pulled out the card that Seto had given to Jou earlier. He made to hand it over, but Seto forestalled him.

"Tell me, what does it say on the card?" Seto demanded.

The waiter dutifully looked at the card, then looked up at Kaiba with a touch of fear. "It says that the bearer of the card has unlimited clearance."

Kaiba fixed the man with a steely glare as he took the card from his trembling hand and handed it directly back to Jou who made a show of putting it into his wallet. "So, why wasn't Jonouchi admitted without question?" he demanded.

The man spluttered as he tried to justify himself, "But... but that ruffian used to be in a gang!"

"Do you think I don't know that?" Kaiba said with more than a touch of exasperation, "And that is the key phrase – he _used_ to be. I happen to know that he's been trying to improve his lot since breaking free of those undesirables, but prejudiced people like yourself aren't helping with that. Besides which, who I choose to have dinner with is none of your concern." He glared at the now pale and visibly sweating man, "I've heard plenty of complaints about you in the past, but you really have overstepped your bounds this time. As of now you are fired. Get your personal possessions and leave"

"But sir," the man made to protest again, "I was only looking out for your best interests..."

"And what on earth makes you think that _you_ are qualified to look out for _my_ best interests?" Seto asked the man incredulously. He did not wait for an answer, however, but looked at Kaji and beckoned him over. "Go with him while he gets his things and make sure that he leaves," he instructed, "then I want to talk to you about what happened earlier."

"Yes sir," the large man bowed, then he turned his attention to the now ex-Head Waiter. "Come on, you heard the boss. Get moving." He herded Takeo out of the lobby, the greasy little man complaining all the way.

Once the pair had left, Seto turned to a visibly gobsmacked Jou. "Are you alright?" he asked with a little concern.

"I'm fine," Jou said, coming out of his stupor. "I just never thought I'd see the day where you would stand up for me," he grinned, "Thanks, Kaiba. I appreciate it."

"Come on," Seto said, taking Jou's hand and leading him into the restaurant, ignoring any curious looks he was getting from those already dining. He settled Jou into his personal booth then gave him an apologetic look. "Unfortunately I now have a couple of things to deal with, but I'll be with you as soon as I can. Will you be OK?"

"Sure," Jou gave him a wide smile that belied his insecurities. "Go do what you have to do, I'm not going anywhere."

"I won't be long," Seto said, then he swept back out into the lobby to find and speak to the security guard.

True to his word, Seto was less than twenty minutes, having promoted one of the wait staff to the Head Waiter position, made sure that they still had enough staff to cover, then given Kaji a warning after his explanation and apology for inadvertently causing Jou to injure himself.

While Jou had sat and waited for Kaiba, one of the other members of staff came to him and offered to strap his foot up. Jou accepted after the young woman insisted that it really would be for the best. He also accepted the stool she brought so that he could keep his foot elevated and the painkillers that were offered. When Seto returned, he was impressed with the woman's show of initiative and instantly gave her a commendation and a raise.

With the unpleasantness out of the way, Jonouchi and Seto finally enjoyed a leisurely evening of good food, finding themselves extremely comfortable in each other's company now that they weren't at loggerheads. They talked about many things, finding plenty of common ground as well as a few things that they agreed to disagree about.

As the desserts were cleared away and Jou sat back with a satisfied sigh, Seto began to speak. "So, puppy..."

Jou looked at Seto, his countenance settled into a scowl, "Dammit Kaiba, always with the dog thing..." he started, only to be stopped as the taller teen covered his hand with his own.

"Jou... I didn't mean it in a bad way," he said. "I'm sorry."

Jou looked at Seto with some shock, but didn't pull his hand away. The CEO had actually apologised to him? "So what did you mean by it?" he asked warily.

Seto flushed a little. "It's more of a pet name than an insult," he explained, "but if you don't like it, then I won't use it."

Jou sat and thought about it for a few moments. He could see what Kaiba meant, and it was surely much better than being called mutt and dog. "Eh, I guess it's not so bad," he conceded. "You can call me puppy if you want, but not mutt or other dog names, OK?"

Seto nodded his agreement. "So..." he said with a touch of trepidation, "does this mean that we are together now?" he asked, showing a touch of uncharacteristic vulnerability.

Jou was surprised at Seto's demeanour, but quickly surmised that underneath the ice cold exterior was someone with the same insecurities as every other teenager. "Yeah, that sounds good Kaiba." he said with a smile as he squeezed the other's hand.

"Seto," Kaiba replied. "If we are going to be together, please call me Seto."

"Sure Seto," Jou said with a big grin, then sobered a little. "You can call me Katsuya when we are alone if you really want to, but otherwise I'd prefer you call me Jou... or puppy," he said the last with a blush.

"Come on then," Seto said as he rose from the table, "let's get out of here." Jou got up and followed Kaiba slowly out of the restaurant, nodding at the new Head Waiter as he did so. Seto helped him to the limo, then followed him inside and instructed Isono to drive.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

**A/N** - Just one more chapter to go. Only the 'cleaner' version will be posted here. The smutful version will be posted elsewhere. :P


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own YuGiOh!. That pleasure belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This is solely written for fun and not for profit.

**A/N** - This chapter still has some sexual content in it, although it has been severely toned down and glossed over - and I've come back and re-edited it since FFN appear to be cracking down recently. I honestly don't think I've gone over what should be expected for the** M** rating, but please remember that this story is rated **M** for a reason.

Links to my AFF account can be found in my profile if you wish to read the unedited chapter.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

Jou sat a little uncomfortably opposite Seto in the back of his limousine. "So, what do ya have in mind now, Kai... err... Seto," he asked as Seto gave him a light glare as he covered his slip.

"That depends on you," Seto said. "first of all, come over here." he patted the seat next to him to indicate where Jou should be sitting. Jou nodded and moved over to the other seat, careful of his twisted ankle.

"OK, now what?" Jou asked.

"This," Seto said simply as he pulled Jou into their first kiss, taking advantage and deepening the kiss as Jou gasped in response. For several long moments the two boys continued to kiss, tongues caressing in an intimate dance and hands wandering, until eventually, Seto pulled away. He grinned a little as Jou whimpered at the loss of contact.

"Holy shit, Seto," Jou gasped once he had regained his senses. He'd never felt anything quite like that from simply kissing before. He flushed deeply as he realised that he was now also quite aroused.

"Holy shit indeed,"Seto replied calmly, belying his own response to the kiss. "So Katsuya, would you like me to take you home now?"

"Ah, no. I'd arranged to stay at Yugi's tonight anyway..."

"So would you like me to take you there?"

"Not yet," Jou said. Becoming a little bolder, he straddled Seto on the seat and leaned close. "I think I'd rather do a bit more of this first," he whispered, then he engaged Seto in their second kiss, completely losing his embarrassment as he realised that Seto was just as aroused as he was.

"Mmm, Jou..." Seto murmured as he ran his hands up and down Jou's back, fighting to hold back as he didn't want their first time to be in the back of the limo. "Jou, will you come home with me tonight?" he asked. "I want... I want to do this properly."

Jou froze for a moment at the implications of that invitation, however he realised that he knew exactly where things were going to lead if they didn't stop soon and it would be much better in a comfortable bed than in the back of a moving vehicle. Resolutely thrusting any reservations that he may have had aside, he breathed a simple 'yes' into Seto's ear. The simple agreement had Seto fumbling for the intercom, rasping a terse "Home Isono," into the microphone, not even waiting for a response before turning the switch to off and turning his attention back to the blond who was currently sucking on his neck.

"That's going to leave a mark you know," Seto moaned.

"Mmm, I know that," Jou replied, sitting back a little. "You don't mind too much do you?"

Seto's response was to pull Jou closer again. "I don't mind. It will just let everyone know I'm yours. Or I could just cover it with a polo neck..."

"Oooh, you are impossible," Jou laughed as he leaned into Seto's neck, "but that's OK, I like a challenge." The boys continued kissing and petting as they moved towards their destination, only to be disturbed by the insistent bleeping of the intercom.

"What is it?" Seto snapped as he answered perhaps a little more irritably than he'd intended.

"I'm sorry to disturb you sir," the chauffeur come bodyguard said apologetically, "but it would appear that we are being followed by someone on a motorcycle."

"So, why are you telling me about it?" Seto asked as he struggled to keep his mind on what Isono was telling him, something he was finding quite difficult to do with a blond puppy distracting him by nibbling on his neck. "You know procedure when it comes to this sort of thing."

"Yes sir," Isono replied, "but I recognised the rider as being one of your companion's friends, so I wished to clarify."

As the information penetrated Jou's lust fogged brain, he looked up sharply to peer out of the back window, then dropped his head back onto Seto's shoulder with a pained groan. "He's right, it's Honda," he said. "Damn it."

"Isono, keep driving for now. I'll give you instruction in a minute." he commanded, turning the intercom off once he got the acknowledgement. He turned his attention back to Jou. "What's the matter?" he asked, knowing that Jou seemed to be more upset than was usual over this.

Jou sighed as he moved away from Seto, not being sure how the taller boy would take this. "Honda has a... thing... for me," he explained. "I've always discouraged him, but it doesn't matter how many times I've told him, he's never really listened."

"How long has this been going on for?" Seto asked coolly.

Jou shook his head as Seto began to ice up. "I'm not really sure exactly when things changed for him, but he knew that I liked you and since my 18th birthday he's been getting worse."

"Because he perceived that things might change after you reached your majority?"

"I guess so," Jou said dejectedly. "But even though I don't want anything to do with him in that way, I still consider him my friend and I don't want him to get into trouble..."

"OK pup," Seto made a decision, "I won't cause any trouble for him at the moment, but shall we both have a word with him? I'm sure that he'll follow us back to the mansion and at least we will be afforded a small amount of privacy on the grounds." He didn't add that there would be more security available in case of any trouble.

"Alright, that's probably for the best," Jou said with a downcast demeanour.

"Puppy?"

"I'm sorry, I'm just peeved that he spoiled the mood." Jou said with a hint of a scowl.

"Well, that might not be such a bad thing," Seto said. When Jou looked at him with curiosity he continued, "because for all that I asked you to come home with me, I was having quite a hard time holding back and things may well have ended up going further than we had intended."

Jou blushed, but didn't say anything as Seto activated the intercom and instructed Isono to take them home. He also gave instructions to inform security of the person on the motorcycle and that he was to be allowed to follow them onto the grounds, but that they were to be on standby for any trouble.

Soon, the limo pulled through the gates of the Kaiba estate, and Honda pulled up outside. Seeing the gates wide open he made his decision and finally followed the limo up the drive. As he pulled up he saw both Jonouchi and Kaiba waiting for him, standing together and with fairly unreadable expressions on their faces. He parked the bike, got off and removed his helmet, then launched into Jou.

"Jou, what the hell do you think you're doing, man?" He demanded.

"What business is it of yours, fin head?" Seto demanded in return, only to subside as Jonouchi put a hand on his arm.

"Let me deal with this Seto," Jou said gently, before turning his attention to his friend. "Although he does have a point."

"I can't believe you are asking that Jou," Honda protested, even though his heart had sunk as he'd heard Jou call Kaiba by his given name. "You are my friend. I'm just concerned about you."

"Yugi, Anzu, Ryou and Otogi are also my friends, but they trust me to look after myself." Jou pointed out.

"But they haven't been friends with you as long as I have..." it was a lame argument and Honda knew it.

"Cut to the chase, fin head," Seto butted in, seeing that this was only going to go around in circles if he didn't intervene. "That isn't the reason you chased Jou here and you know it."

"Fuck off Kaiba," Honda spat, "this is all your fault. If it weren't for you..."

"Stop right there Hon'," Jou butted in. "Before you finish that thought, it wouldn't matter if Seto were in the picture or not. I don't like you that way and I thought you understood that."

"But I don't understand why you are with him. I thought you hated him." Honda wasn't ready to give up yet.

"I've never really hated him," Jou explained, "not even when he was being a huge ass." he grinned as Seto growled in his ear and he knew he would pay for that later. "You know that. Heaven knows I've told you enough times."

"But..."

"Go home Honda, before you embarrass yourself even more," Seto sighed. "Katsuya is here of his own free will. He can leave whenever he wants, but I don't see him trying to get away, do you?"

Defeated, and heart sinking even further after hearing Seto use Jonouchi's given name, Honda donned his helmet, jumped on his bike and sped away.

"I hope he's going to be OK," Jou said, looking in the direction Honda had gone with some worry.

"He'll be fine, puppy," Seto put his arm around the smaller teen. "He's the kind of person that won't get it until it's shoved in his face. Now, hopefully he should accept it and come around, although I'll be the first to say that it could take a while."

"I guess you're right," Jou said sadly. "It's just he was my best bud for years, ya know?"

"I know," Seto replied, giving Jou a fond squeeze. "Now come on in. It's quite nippy out here and I wouldn't want you to catch a chill."

Jou smiled at Seto's caring tone as they made their way towards the house. Seto would have picked Jou up and carried him, but he knew that Jou had his pride and would not appreciate it, so he settled for supporting Jou as he walked instead. As they entered through the front door, however, they were accosted by Mokuba.

"Seto, how did it go?" the boy began, only to come up short as he took in the blond beside him, eyes widening with concern as he took in how the smaller teen was limping. "Jou! What happened? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a little disagreement with the head waiter, that's all."

"Oh was it that nasty greasy little man?" Mokuba made a moue of distaste, "What was his name? Takeo?"

"Yes that's the one," Seto confirmed, "and after tonight he no longer works for Kaiba Corporation."

"Oh thank goodness," Mokuba looked relieved. "He always looked down his nose at me and I could never figure out what I was supposed to have done."

"That guy had some serious issues alright," Jou said.

"What are you doing up anyway Mokuba?" Seto asked the boy. "It's way past your bedtime."

"I just wanted to know how things went with Jou," Mokuba replied. "So... are you together now?" He looked at them with hopeful eyes.

"I dunno, are we?" Jou asked Seto teasingly.

"Silly puppy, of course we are." Seto smiled indulgently at Jou only to have the wind knocked out of him as Mokuba tackled him into a hug.

"Yeah! I'm happy for you," the black haired boy said as he squeezed Seto and Jou into a three way hug. After a moment he detached himself and went to run up to bed. "Goodnight Seto, goodnight Jou," he said, stopping as he reached the halfway point of the stairs and looking back with mischief in his eyes. "Don't do anything that I wouldn't do," he smirked before racing off to his room.

"Squirt," Jou growled good naturedly. "I'm kinda glad Honda interrupted us now." he said as the boy disappeared from view.

"Yes. I dread to think what Mokuba might have seen otherwise," Seto said in a contemplative voice.

"The kid isn't as innocent you seem to think he is, though," Jou said.

Seto looked as though he were about to get annoyed for a moment before he slumped a little. "You are right. I'd have preferred to keep him innocent a little longer, but..."

"He's a good kid," Jou said, "good head on his shoulders."

"Thanks Jou." Seto escorted Jou to the lounge and sat him down on the large comfortable couch. "Now would you like a drink?"

"Ah, sure," Jou replied. "A coke will be fine thanks."

Seto returned, having removed his trench coat while he was gone and with the requested drink. He sat down next to the now slightly nervous blond. "Jou?"

"It's OK Seto," Jou replied. "I'm just feeling a little nervous, you know? It's not like I've ever done anything like this before." He looked downwards, embarrassed by what he had just admitted.

"Jou look at me," Seto said, waiting until the blond was looking warily at him. "Don't be embarrassed. After all, you aren't the only one."

Jou was shocked. "You mean you're..."

Seto nodded, a pink flush across his cheeks.

"So, what now?" the blond asked.

"Hmm... how about we start with this and see..." Seto said as he leaned in for a kiss. Jou instantly responded, throwing his arms around the taller boy and deepening the kiss.

"Hmm, eager..." Seto said as they pulled apart for a moment.

"Yeah, I'm still pretty worked up from earlier on," Jou mumbled into Seto's neck. He rubbed against the taller boy, making it obvious just how worked up he was. "It's a good job that you'd untucked my shirt earlier or I'd have given Honda an eyeful."

Seto pushed Jou onto his back, crawling over him. "That is a good thing. I wouldn't want him seeing what is mine," Seto smirked, "and you are so hot, puppy," he breathed as he leaned in to ravage Jou's mouth in a passionate kiss. He groaned loudly as their clothed arousals brushed against each other.

"Seto," Jou gasped as they bucked against each other almost helplessly, "If we don't slow down, this is gonna be over before it starts."

"I think," Seto said as he struggled to regain some semblance of control, "we are both a bit too wound up to do this properly," he pulled away, then smirked, "so I think I'll do something else."

"Huh?" Jou looked up at Seto in lust hazed confusion, which turned into wide-eyed realisation as the taller teen reached for his zipper. "Seto?"

"Hush puppy," Seto looked into Jou's worried eyes with lust glazed ones of his own as he opened the blond's trousers. "Hmm, a natural blond," he smirked, then he moved quickly to relieve Jou's need.

"Aah! Seto!" Jou exclaimed as he tangled his hands into Seto's brunet tresses, but within a few seconds it was all over and Jou flushed with embarrassment. Seto, even though he had expected Jou to climax quite quickly, hadn't been prepared for just _how_ quickly, but he hadn't let that phase him at all.

Seto pulled away and Jou looked at him with glazed eyes. Seto wasted no time and kissed the other boy harshly, thrusting his tongue into Jou's mouth. Jou may have been sated, but Seto was not. He moved hard against Jou, now desperate for release and unable to stop himself.

Jou allowed Seto to have his way, still too dazed from his recent release to do anything else. He could taste himself on Seto's lips and he could feel Seto's hardness pushing against his hip, bringing him back to his senses and making him realise that Seto would need relief too and it was selfish of him just to lie there while Seto was still in need. He made to move, to push Seto back so that he could take care of Seto in return, but before he could Seto stiffened against him, burying his face into Jou's neck with a harsh groan as he climaxed. Then, he collapsed, spent and panting on top of Jou.

"Seto?" Jou turned his name into a question, "You ok?"

"Sorry Jou," Seto said, not raising his face from where it was against Jou's neck, "I couldn't hold back any longer."

"Don't apologise," Jou said rubbing his hands against Seto's back in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. "OK, I'd have liked to have done it myself, but I'm kind of flattered you know. It's not everyday a hot guy gets so worked up over me that he can't hold back."

"Really?" Seto moved so that he could look at Jou from under his bangs, face flushed with embarrassment at his loss of control.

Jou leaned up and kissed him gently, "Yeah, really," he said with a smile. "Come on, I was almost there myself before you went down on me."

Seto smiled at Jou, then stood, grimacing slightly at the sticky feeling in his pants, then held his hand out to Jou. "Come on, let's go and get cleaned up."

"Yeah, that's probably for the best," Jou said, standing up a little painfully with Seto's help then quickly refastening his trousers. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well, my bath is more than big enough for two, if that's OK with you," Seto asked with a touch of uncertainty.

Jou smiled as he took Seto up on his offer and they first showered to rinse off the results of their recent intimacy, then settled together in the large bathtub, cuddling together until the water began to cool. Finally they returned to bed, slumbering together in each other's arms – at least until Mokuba bounced in and began teasing them the next morning anyway.

Once they had chased Mokuba off then got up, Seto checked Jou's ankle then provided a uniform for Jou to wear and they quickly dressed. As he put on the borrowed uniform jacker, Jou was surprised to notcice something on Seto's bedside table so he moved over and picked it up. It was the Valentine's card that he had put with all others for Seto the previous day. "How do you still have this?" Jou asked with some surprise. "I thought you threw it away with the rest of the cards you got."

"I just made it look that way," Seto said. "After I knew that you were going to send me a card, I was on the lookout for your," he smirked, "distinctive handwriting. It was easy enough to slip inside a book until later." He looked at Jou's surprised face and smiled. "Did you really think that I would have thrown your card away, especially after finding out that the sentiment was genuine?"

"Ah, Seto, you big sap," Jou said as he walked over to his lover. "C'mere." He pulled Seto down into a sensual kiss, frowning slightly as Seto pulled away after a few moments. "Seto?"

"As much as I would like to stay here and continue this," Seto said as he caressed Jou's face, "we're going to be late if we don't get a move on and your friends probably think I've kidnapped you as it is."

"Heh, you're probably right," Jou admitted.

"I know I am," Seto said in that smug way of his that usually got Jou's back up, but Jou found that it didn't bother him anymore. He now knew the other side of Seto, the one that he didn't show to the world and he was sure that he'd be seeing much more of it in future.

The End.

xo xo xo xo xo xo xo

**A/N** - So that is the third and final part done. I hope you enjoyed it and that everyone had a happy Valentine's day. ^_^

It has to be said that I originally wrote a different (and much longer) version of this story where Jou got beaten up by some overzealous security at the Ritz and ended up in hospital. I didn't like the way it went, (especially as a Valentine's story should be fluffier than that,) so I cut it and wrote it again. However, on reading it back several months later I found that it's not actually all that bad and I'll probably post it on Dreamwidth as an alternate take later - when I actually finish it that is. :P


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